JetBlue firms 30 A220 options and accelerates E190 phase-out

JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK) has firmed thirty more A220-300 options amid plans to accelerate the retirement of its remaining E190s.

Following the conversion, the airline now has 100 A220-300s on firm order, including 60 ordered in 2018, ten options converted in 2019, and the thirty recently converted. Out of this 100, eight units have so far been delivered with a further 18 due for delivery by the end of 2022 and 21 more in 2023. JetBlue still retains 20 options for the type.

“We’re already seeing benefits from the eight A220s we’ve added to the fleet, and we’re very happy to have more on the way,” Chief Executive Robin Hayes said.

With this development, the airline hopes to retire all of its E190s by the end of 2026. Although that was the original timeframe in 2018, JetBlue Airways later said it was willing to keep some of its E190s longer so as to exploit the benefits of its Northeast Alliance with American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth). The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows JetBlue Airways currently operates sixty E190s, of which it owns 30 and leases the other 30.